Turkish government spokesperson describes wiretapping of officials as 'illegal'

Turkish government spokesperson Bulent Arinc on Monday described as "illegal" prosecutors' requests and court orders on wiretapping of senior government officials which he claimed conducted by "parallel state" or a 'state within the state' which allegedly had links in the police force and the judiciary, Anadolu agency reported.

The Turkish dailies published a list of 'victims of illegal wiretapping', on Monday, which is reported to amount to around 7,000 people from different political spectrums - including Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and at least one of his ministers as well as a number of journalists, academics, business leaders and civil society representatives.

Arinc said an investigation was underway into the claims of wiretapping of government officials

The wiretapping allegations first erupted after Turkey's intelligence agency, MIT, found bugs in Prime Minister Erdogan's office in 2012.

The new allegations and the published list are part of an ongoing political struggle that was sparked on December 17 following an anti-graft probe aimed at the government, which led to high-profile arrests.